The Presidents Day dinner at Yours Truly in Mentor offers diners the opportunity to meet re-enactors portraying Lady Martha Washington, President and Mrs. Abraham Lincoln, former first lady Lucretia R. Garfield and her daughter, Mollie Garfield. The costumed re-enactors will stroll among diners, ans wering their questions and posing for photos. The dinner takes place from 5 to 7 p.m. on Feb. 16. The restaurant is at 7280 Center St. Christy Downs was able to use Mollie Garfield’s diaries to research the life of the only daughter of President James A. and Lucretia Garfield to survive to adulthood. Downs, who teaches social studies at Willoughby Middle School, has incorporated what she’s learned into the lessons she teaches students. In 2022, Downs was awarded a Teacher-Ranger grant from the National Park Service that allowed her to spend the summer using original documents to conduct research for a program for eighth graders. It included a video she produced at the James A. Garfield National Historic Site in Mentor and the creation of an online escape room using the Garfield Library’s vault. A later grant provided transportation for her honor students to visit the Garfield home. Mollie was just 14 when her father died in September 1881 from an assassination attempt two months earlier. “Her diary shows her going from a typical teen to a grieving daughter in just a few months,” Downs said. “In July, she’s still trying to impress her brothers, whom she always looked up to. But by September, the ‘Mollie Wack’ her dad loved so much had to grow up fast and was writing about the total heartbreak of losing him and how much she admired her brave mom for holding the family together.” Her father had nicknamed her Mollie Wack for her awkward habit of always running into things, Downs related. The James A. Garfield National Historic Site typically is part of the Presidents’ Day programs in Mentor, but it’s closed through February as its floors undergo restoration. Mary Todd Lincoln, portrayed by Marian King, leans in to answer a question from a guest at an earlier Presidents’ Day dinner at Yours Truly in Mentor. This year’s is set for Feb. 16. (Courtesy of We Made History) Downs expects many of her students to show up at Yours Truly to see their teacher portray Mollie Garfield Stanley-Brown, who was married and in her mid-40s. The acting troupe, known as We Made History, portrays its characters in many programs, which can be arranged year-round. Nancy Fellows of Willoughby Hills, who depicts Martha Washington, will draw from a new program called “Just Martha.” It explores the early years of Martha Dandridge Custis, her first marriage and family before she married George Washington. She will also share stories about her life with the general who became our first president. Fellows’ husband, Dale Fellows, who plays George Washington, won’t be at the restaurant’s event this year. He’s been engaged portraying the first president in events celebrating America’s 250th birthday. Abraham Lincoln, played by John King, poses with a young guest at an earlier Presidents’ Day dinner at Yours Truly in Mentor. This year’s is set for Feb. 16. (Courtesy of We Made History) Other reenactors slated to appear on Feb. 16 at Yours Truly include John and Marian King, portraying President and Mrs. Abraham Lincoln, and Debbie Weinkamer, portraying former first lady Lucretia Garfield. For more information about the We Made History acting troupe, visit wemadehistory.com. Dinner with the Presidents When: 5 to 7 p.m. Feb. 16. Where: Yours Truly Restaurant, 7280 Center St., Mentor. Info: 440-954-9393. Note: No reservations. ...read more read less